Gaining Access to Rewards: Warframe Syndicate Guide

During your time in the Origin System, you’ll face a variety of hostile factions looking to take you down: the Grineer, the Corpus, the Sentients, et cetera, et cetera. But fortunately, not every group of warriors in the system is your enemy. There are also a number of factions you can join that can offer you powerful rewards for your allegiance, including unique mods, weapons, and cosmetics. Interested in joining one of these shadowy Syndicates? This Warframe Syndicate Guide will tell you everything you need to know about making the most of your membership.

What are Syndicates and how can I join them?

Syndicates are factions with their own beliefs and goals that one can join in order to gain access to their rewards. You can join a faction starting at Mastery Rank 3, but choose carefully: initiating and gaining Standing for one Syndicate will cause you to lose Standing for that Syndicate’s rivals. There are currently 10 Syndicates players can join: Steel Meridian, Arbiters of Hexis, Cephalon Suda, The Perrin Sequence, Red Veil, and New Loka. Each offers a wealth of unique rewards to dedicated members, as well as their own in-universe lore and themes.

You can join a Syndicate by activating your Syndicate console in your Orbiter, to the left of the Navigation platform. From there, you should be able to select a Syndicate and initiate your Tenno into it. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to start rising through the ranks.

What is Standing and how do I gain it?

Standing is a point system that measures your reputation within a certain Syndicate and also serves as a currency for buying Syndicate rewards. Once you gain enough Standing, you can also “sacrifice” it to upgrade your Syndicate ranking to the next level. The higher your ranking, the more powerful and unique rewards you can unlock.

So how do you get Standing? The easiest way to gain Standing is to purchase that Syndicate’s sigil and then equip it on your Warframe as you run missions. To equip a Sigil, visit your Arsenal and select the Appearance tab for your Warframe. From there, select “Regalia” and assign the Sigil to your Warframe’s front or back. Note that you can only equip one Syndicte’s Sigil at a time. Once equipped, you’ll gain Standing for that Syndicate and its allies at the end of every mission. Be aware that there’s a limit to how much Standing you can gain this way per day. But not to fear: you can also gain additional Standing by completing Syndicate Alerts, special missions you can view on your Navigation screen by clicking the Syndicate icon on the top right of your screen. These missions will also spawn Syndicate medallions throughout the map, which can be collected and turned in for even more Standing at the Syndicate’s Relay enclave.

What kind of rewards can I get from my Syndicate?

Now for the fun part of this guide: the rewards. At first, the rewards you can purchase from your Syndicate won’t be that impressive: Specters, packs of random Void Relics, and a few consumable items. However, once you reach Rank 4, you’ll start to unlock some truly powerful items. First, you’ll be able to purchase Weapon Augment Mods, which not only boost the stats of that Syndicate’s favored weapons but also equip them with a special effect that triggers whenever you gain enough Affinity during the mission. This special effect will release a radial elemental attack across a huge area, grant you a temporary stat buff, and restore 25% of your health, energy, or shields, with the specifics of these bonuses depending on the Syndicate.

At Rank 5, you’ll be able to purchase Warframe Augment Mods, Syndicate-exclusive weapons, unique Syandanas, and Captura scenes from your Syndicate. Warframe Augment Mods are some of the coolest mods in the game, dramatically changing how your Warframe’s abilities work and making them far more powerful. Syndicate weapons can also be impressive additions to your arsenal, boasting higher base stats than non-Syndicate variants, plus the same special effect offered by that Syndicate’s Weapon Augment Mods. And, of course, those unique Syandanas and Captura scenes will no-doubt help you up your Fashion frame game.

How can I get rewards from other Syndicates?

Because you can only ally yourself with a handful of Syndicates at a time, you’ll likely run into the problem of desperately wanting a mod or weapon only offered by a Syndicate that hates you. So what’s a poor Tenno to do? The good news is that unranked Syndicate mods and weapons can be traded between players. This means you can buy them from other players for Platinum or offer an exclusive weapon or mod from your own Syndicate in return. Just because the Syndicates jealously guard their tech doesn’t mean us Tenno have to!

Are there any penalties for having a bad reputation with a Syndicate?

As you gain Standing with your chosen Syndicates, you will inevitably lose Standing with those Syndicates’ rivals, to the point where you may as well be their most hated enemy. But is there anything to fear from their scorn aside from dirty looks? As it turns out, there is. Rival Syndicates will occasionally interrupt your missions across the Origin System by sending a Death Squad after you and your teammates. These Death Squads consist of high-level Eximus units, the exact type of which depends on the Syndicate that sent them. These Death Squads can be a major nuisance, so be prepared if you have a bad relationship with multiple Syndicates.

Join the club!

Thanks to the wealth of unique items and mods offered by the Syndicates, joining one is one of the best investments you can make in the game. So wear that Sigil proudly, fend off those Death Squads, and get that Standing. Once you rise through the ranks, the perks from your Syndicate will make it well worth the effort. Hopefully, this Warframe Syndicate Guide helps!